Black History

The statement “Black Lives Matter,” on so many signs across the country should be obvious to students of Knoxville history. We live in a part of the country where some areas, and some whole counties, have very small racial-minority populations that can be too easy to ignore. But in Knoxville, the African American population has always been significant, in fact greater than that of America as a whole–not just in numbers but in impact on our culture. Black lives have played a role in nearly every aspect of the city’s history, in ways that haven’t always been acknowledged. As a city-based historical nonprofit, we consider it essential to our mission to remind the world of the contributions of our racial and ethnic minorities. This job will never be complete, of course, but here’s a sample of what we’ve done so far.

~ June 2020

Stories by KHP

History Happy Hours

Images

The public pavilion known as the Negro Building was designed and built by black citizens of Knoxville, especially those associated with Knoxville College, and highlighted black achievements in the area, featuring exhibits from historically black colleges from all over the region. Organizers expected 10,000 black visitors. The building was used for three big expositions, including the National Conservation Exposition of 1913, but eventually fell victim to fire, a fate shared by most of the exposition-era buildings. (Postcard shared by Cindy & Mark Proteau)

BLACK HISTORY IMAGE GALLERY